July 1, 200917 yr http://www.miamiherald.com/486/story/1122004.html seems like the marlins are willing to cover it and i sure hope it will be that easy.
July 1, 200917 yr The Marlins are willing to cover the 6 million dollar gap, but the bonds that were sold at 8% interest are the problem. I'm sure there will be a big deal made out of that. I can't believe this. There is always a problem when we seem to be turning a corner!
July 1, 200917 yr The conclusion of this article sounds a lot more optimistic! June 30, 2009 Marlins Stadium Update No. $6.2 million (UPDATED 1:10 AM) > Posted by Sarah Talalay on June 30, 2009 11:39 PM Miami-Dade County fell short by $6.2 million in its effort to sell bonds for a new Marlins ballpark Tuesday, but site preparation work is expected to begin Wednesday morning at the former location of the Orange Bowl. Although the shortfall in the bond sale threw the ballpark deal into disarray for several hours Tuesday night and into early Wednesday, the deal appeared to be back on track, after the Marlins agreed to fill the gap should the dollars be needed to complete the 37,000-seat retractable roof ballpark. The commission debated from about 7 to 9 p.m. and then what was meant to be a 45-minute break stretched on for three and a half hours. The commission finally returned at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and voted 9-3 for changes that will allow the deal to move forward. Commissioners approved three items, including agreeing to a higher interest rate on the some of the bonds and adjusting the county's commitment to the project to $341 million down from $347 million. Earlier in the evening, County Manager George Burgess told commissioners the county had planned to sell $306 million in bonds, but fell short by about $6.2 million and a portion of the bonds were set at a higher interest rate than the county had expected. That means the county?s commitment to payments will remain the same, but the gap needed filling. Neither the county, nor city were willing to step up, Burgess said. ?At end of the day, we?re extraordinarily close,? Burgess told commissioners. ?We?ve had conversations with the team. My ask of them was, ?If we?re short, are you prepared to be able to cover the difference??? Marlins President David Samson insisted the team would -- and the public would not be asked to put more into the deal. ?We made a commitment in March," Samson said. "That commitment was there would be a certain amount of money the public would be committing and not one dollar more.? Worried construction workers would not be able to begin working, Samson said the team would cover any additional costs. ?If this building costs $515 million, the team will put in what?s required,? Samson said. ?If it costs $512 million that is what the team will do.? You can see equipment on the site via the team?s ballpark webcam. A formal ground-breaking is scheduled on July 18. Not to get too technical here, but while the bonds backed by the professional sports franchise facilities tax portion of the hotel tax were sold at a lower interest rate than anticipated, those backed by the Convention Development portion of the hotel tax were set at a higher rate. The ?blended rate? of the two taxes fell within the county?s 7.5 percent cap, but the commission needed to sign off on the higher cap of 8.2 percent for the CDT-backed bonds. Some commissioners worried about encumbering more taxpayer dollars, tapping into the county?s general fund if hotel dollars fall short during the life of the deal, and continuing to adjust a deal that has dogged them for years, but may finally result in a ground-breaking in a few weeks. Commissioner Sally Heyman wanted Samson to agree to cover the $6 million shortfall rather than agreeing to cover any additional costs. Commissioner Katy Sorenson worried the county didn?t bargain hard enough while the deal was being negotiated. ?We can see clearly the Marlins have more to give and clearly have had more to give all along and it?s an example of why we can see this isn?t such a great deal for our constituents,? Sorenson said.
July 1, 200917 yr The conclusion of this article sounds a lot more optimistic! The commission debated from about 7 to 9 p.m. and then what was meant to be a 45-minute break stretched on for three and a half hours. The commission finally returned at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and voted 9-3 for changes that will allow the deal to move forward. Commissioners approved three items, including agreeing to a higher interest rate on the some of the bonds and adjusting the county's commitment to the project to $341 million down from $347 million. well, there it is then. we got our stadium.
July 1, 200917 yr This is my first post ever so im gonna make it a good one. Enjoy this article i found. Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 10:02am EDT County approves financing for Marlins stadium South Florida Business Journal - by Oscar Pedro Musibay After a mind-numbing recess that lasted into the early morning, Miami-Dade County Commissioners acted on promises that the Florida Marlins made to cover a $6.2 million gap in bond funding for a baseball stadium. The 6-3 vote clears the way for closing the bond deal ? possibly today ? and construction of the much-debated and long-awaited stadium in Miami?s Little Havana. The park is supposed to be finished by 2012. Commissioners voted after midnight Wednesday to allow for a higher cap on one of the bonds being sold to cover the county?s commitment on the $640 million stadium and infrastructure. Instead of covering $347 million, the county is on the hook for $342 million of the project. Commissioners also voted to allow for a higher cap on one of the bonds to be sold to pay for the county?s portion of the project. The 7.5 percent cap was changed to 8.2 percent on the bond tied to convention taxes. The fact that the convention bond will sell at a higher interest rate will result in lower revenue for Miami-Dade, County Manager George Burgess explained to commissioners. That created the need for more money, so Florida Marlins President David Samson promised to cover the $6.2 million funding gap. Commissioner Bruno Barreiro said, "I feel comfortable with the agreement. The Marlins will step up to the plate and pay the additional $6 million. At the end of the day, the taxpayers are not going to be on the hook for the additional monies." Voting against the agreement were Katy Sorenson, Carlos Gimenez and Sally Heyman. The debate started at 7 p.m., but stopped at 9 p.m. to allow attorneys to make changes in the financing package. Earlier in the day, commissioners approved a change that raised Wachovia?s status as a creditor in the financing package. Wachovia, which is providing up to a $100 million letter of credit, requested that it be paid first from the county?s list of creditors. The votes on Tuesday and early Wednesday morning followed two other big developments. On June 19, city commissioners voted to approve the necessary changes to the Marlins package to clear the way for the county?s changes Tuesday. A circuit court judge also ruled in favor of the county in one count of a civil lawsuit that could have prevented the county from selling the necessary bonds to build the project. That case is on appeal in Miami, as is a lawsuit filed by auto dealer Norman Braman, who last November lost his legal bid to declare the stadium?s funding plan unconstitutional. Work on the baseball stadium site is set to begin Wednesday. Crews will officially break ground on July 18. In April, county commissioners approved issuing bonds totaling a maximum of $536 million toward construction of the $640 million, 37,000-seat ballpark.
July 2, 200917 yr The conclusion of this article sounds a lot more optimistic! June 30, 2009 Marlins Stadium Update No. $6.2 million (UPDATED 1:10 AM) > Posted by Sarah Talalay on June 30, 2009 11:39 PM Miami-Dade County fell short by $6.2 million in its effort to sell bonds for a new Marlins ballpark Tuesday, but site preparation work is expected to begin Wednesday morning at the former location of the Orange Bowl. Although the shortfall in the bond sale threw the ballpark deal into disarray for several hours Tuesday night and into early Wednesday, the deal appeared to be back on track, after the Marlins agreed to fill the gap should the dollars be needed to complete the 37,000-seat retractable roof ballpark. The commission debated from about 7 to 9 p.m. and then what was meant to be a 45-minute break stretched on for three and a half hours. The commission finally returned at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and voted 9-3 for changes that will allow the deal to move forward. Commissioners approved three items, including agreeing to a higher interest rate on the some of the bonds and adjusting the county's commitment to the project to $341 million down from $347 million. Earlier in the evening, County Manager George Burgess told commissioners the county had planned to sell $306 million in bonds, but fell short by about $6.2 million and a portion of the bonds were set at a higher interest rate than the county had expected. That means the county's commitment to payments will remain the same, but the gap needed filling. Neither the county, nor city were willing to step up, Burgess said. "At end of the day, we're extraordinarily close," Burgess told commissioners. "We've had conversations with the team. My ask of them was, 'If we're short, are you prepared to be able to cover the difference'?" Marlins President David Samson insisted the team would -- and the public would not be asked to put more into the deal. "We made a commitment in March," Samson said. "That commitment was there would be a certain amount of money the public would be committing and not one dollar more." Worried construction workers would not be able to begin working, Samson said the team would cover any additional costs. "If this building costs $515 million, the team will put in what's required," Samson said. "If it costs $512 million that is what the team will do." You can see equipment on the site via the team's ballpark webcam. A formal ground-breaking is scheduled on July 18. Not to get too technical here, but while the bonds backed by the professional sports franchise facilities tax portion of the hotel tax were sold at a lower interest rate than anticipated, those backed by the Convention Development portion of the hotel tax were set at a higher rate. The "blended rate" of the two taxes fell within the county's 7.5 percent cap, but the commission needed to sign off on the higher cap of 8.2 percent for the CDT-backed bonds. Some commissioners worried about encumbering more taxpayer dollars, tapping into the county's general fund if hotel dollars fall short during the life of the deal, and continuing to adjust a deal that has dogged them for years, but may finally result in a ground-breaking in a few weeks. Commissioner Sally Heyman wanted Samson to agree to cover the $6 million shortfall rather than agreeing to cover any additional costs. Commissioner Katy Sorenson worried the county didn't bargain hard enough while the deal was being negotiated. "We can see clearly the Marlins have more to give and clearly have had more to give all along and it's an example of why we can see this isn't such a great deal for our constituents," Sorenson said. I really hate this quote. Just because the Marlins were willing to pay any additional costs doesn't mean they have the money laying around and were withholding it from the city/county. It is more like the Marlins, at this point, are in for a dime, in for a dollar. It's like if two people split a restaurant bill. They agree to split it 60/40, let's say. But then the 40 guy is short by 5% and the 60 guy says no problem, I'll pay the extra amount. The 40 guy doesn't get to complain because they are the ones who couldn't cover the cost. I get it that the politicians are playing with the taxpayers' money, but c'mon, 6 million (or whatever the Marlins will need to cover) doesn't indicate that the Marlins have pills of cash laying around, it indicates that they are willing to cover you if you don't have the money. It is a "sacrifice" to get it done (and paid).
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